Is the game really ending at 2500?

java4me · May 5, 2001, 15:07

I am bringing up this topic, because there has been lots of debate on when the game really ends at 2500. Some people think that it is 2020, and others think that it is 2500, and if it is 2500, then I would think that that would be to late in the game and the game should of ended around 2200.

If the game really ended around 2500, then there would have to be a good exclamation on why it would around 2500. Maybe, Firaxis wants it to end around that time to allow future technologies and other future end of the games. But this is still all unknown.

It would be great to hear from other peoples ideas or if they know anything about this to post what they know!

Otherwise it is still up to debate!!!

MarBaS · May 5, 2001, 15:49

As of right now Civ3 will be ending at 2500. Im not going to give my opinion because i think Sid will make it work no matter what.

ancient · May 5, 2001, 16:34

sid himself said in a interview 2020, which makes sence because every other civ game also did.

Ralf · May 5, 2001, 16:34

quote:

Originally posted by MarBaS on 05-05-2001 03:49 PM
As of right now Civ3 will be ending at 2500. Im not going to give my opinion because i think Sid will make it work no matter what.

As it stands; I think it is MUCH more likely that the 2020 AD ending is the correct version. Firstly, read this:

Click on this Apolyton-link: Interview with Sid
The original Gamespot.UK link is: Sid Meier on Civilization III

Secondly: heres something that Zanzin mentioned in this thread:

"Firaxis have announced in one of the magazines that there will be 4 Ages. This doesn't really take into account a future age, does it? This is why me thinks Civ3 will only play up to 2020. It's probably best this way - I'd hate to see Firaxis screw up civ with future techs like Activision did."

[This message has been edited by Ralf (edited May 05, 2001).]

ancient · May 5, 2001, 16:38

dam you beat me to it, just seconds

Ralf · May 5, 2001, 16:50

quote:

Originally posted by ancient on 05-05-2001 04:38 PM
dam you beat me to it, just seconds

quote:

,which makes sence because every other civ game also did.

Good point! Also; I DONT think they want to muddle the CIV-timeline and the SMAC-timeline into each other. It just doesnt seems likely. Remember that both games are similar in game-type, and both are developed by one and the same company. They want two in a timeline & era-consistent series: Civ takes care of history and present - while SMAC deals with the SciFi-stuff. Logically, everything really points to the 2020 AD ending as the correct one.

[This message has been edited by Ralf (edited May 05, 2001).]

Venger · May 5, 2001, 16:58

2020 is way too early. Maybe 2100. You can create some future techs that make some sense - after all, isn't a space ship that lands on AC future tech? Some sensible future techs, nothing ridiculous like half of the SMAC techs, just something to make the late game fun...

Venger

jordanz19 · May 5, 2001, 17:48

I think it would be 2050 more likely than 2500. But 2020 is what evey other civ ended at so that will probably be it.

May 5, 2001, 20:29

Civ 1 2100
Civ 2 2020

------------------

java4me · May 5, 2001, 20:38

Even if the game does go into the future, I bet Sid would make it good! Anything that Sid makes is good, so I don't think that he will mess this one up!

It might be 2050 and not 2500, because the person who wrote it might have made a typo.

If it was 2500, I think that would give you time to discover future techs to build the spaceship, and then build the darn thing! Because I don't think that we would fly thousands of people to Alpha Centari in the next 50 to 100 years.

Maybe in the future he will post if he really is planning on going to the year 2500!

Nemo · May 5, 2001, 21:00

i thought i saw an article posted somewhere that it was 2200ad, thats why i was confused about seeing 2020 everywhere. but this is the first i heard of it ending at 2500an

ancient · May 5, 2001, 21:12

well 2100 is almost 2020.. maybe thats why civ1 had hovercraft.. i think the latset they could pull of well is 2050 but i would like if he kept his word and made it 2020

Father Beast · May 5, 2001, 21:12

the PC Gamer article (the source of this confusion) says, "...all the way to 2500 A.D. (when interstellar travel is possible, and a beautifully rendered spacecraft leaves earth on a rewarding trip to an ever-familiar Alpha Centauri)"

where they got this info, I don't know. whether Sid was firm about his statement, I don't know. whether it is really still up in the air, I don't know. and none of us will really know for sure until (a) someone from firaxis sets us straight, or (b) we get the game when it (finally) comes out and see for ourselves.

on a side note, the article projects a winter release...

Al'Kimiya · May 6, 2001, 05:10

Actually, the ending date in Civ1/2 depended on the difficulty level you played. (Differing some 20 years per level, thus 2020, 2100 etc.)

MarBaS · May 6, 2001, 15:05

Yeah maybe i shouldnt trust the PC Gamer preview, but they said twice in it that it will go till 2500. 2500 or 2020, dosent matter much to me. Im sure it will be fun either way. The pc gamer article also said you can play with 8 civs at once so who knows.

java4me · May 6, 2001, 21:43

Overall I think that Firaxis will make the game good even if it is 2500. I don't think that Sid would mess up like Activision did in making future techs and units!

java4me · May 6, 2001, 21:44

Meaning, that Sid will have better future techs and units!

tniem · May 7, 2001, 17:11

quote:

Originally posted by java4me on 05-06-2001 09:43 PM
Overall I think that Firaxis will make the game good even if it is 2500. I don't think that Sid would mess up like Activision did in making future techs and units!

Why not? I mean, yes SMAC went into the future and yes it did a realistic job of working future techs, but SMAC went less into the future than Civ III going to 2500 would. In fact, anyone looking 500 years into the future is going to have some weird techs and units. Not only that, can anyone expect to have Earth still here in 500 years with the way humans have treated this planet? It is all speculation that Civ III could do without.

DrFell · May 7, 2001, 17:16

Civ 1 didnt have hovercraft!!

ancient · May 7, 2001, 20:47

yes it does :P

java4me · May 7, 2001, 20:56

I don't really recall Civ1 ever having hovercrafts! But i might be mistaken, put i have played Civ1 hours and hours before and i don't remember any hovercrafts! Unless you put a mod on it or something, it didn't originally have hovercrafts in it!!!

Shadowstrike · May 7, 2001, 22:31

I certainly never saw hovercraft in CivI, and I played that game for years on end (I was 6, blame me)

Father Beast · May 7, 2001, 22:40

quote:

Originally posted by java4me on 05-06-2001 09:43 PM
Overall I think that Firaxis will make the game good even if it is 2500. I don't think that Sid would mess up like Activision did in making future techs and units!

and I don't think that just because activision screwed something up, sid and co. will too if they try.

Father Beast · May 7, 2001, 22:46

the hovercraft in civ1, weren't really in the game as released. the CGW article talks with sid about game balancing, and he remarks that civ originally "had hovercrafts and maps that were twice as big". they decided not to include it later on.

ajbera · May 8, 2001, 11:43

The way I see it, they have a couple of options if they really wish Civ3 to be the precursor to SMAC.

We can do a bit of speculation as to when we feel the tech levels of the primary nations of Earth would be sufficient to launch a colony ship to AC. Everyone is going to piss and moan about the uncertainty of the future, but for gameplay's sake, I'd say either 2100 or 2200. That's well enough into the future that such an endeavor would sound feasible, but not so far as another 500 years from now. So, Civ3 goes until the 22nd or 23rd century, and there's a direct connection to SMAC.

Alternately, instead of advancing so far that colony ship construction is believable, the game could end a bit sooner, and the scientific end game could involve the race to locate a suitable planet for colonization, the step immediately prior to constucting the colony ship. Then the game could end anywhere from an optimistic 2020 to a more realistic 2050 (2100 is still a possibility.) That would advance us far enough into the future to allow for a smooth transition to SMAC, while still not being so far into the future that we would have sci-fi type units (although I would like to see some minor advancements over tanks and AEGIS cruisers to reflect future knowledge - nothing radical, but small tweaks, such as better mobility, firepower, etc.)

Just my two cents.

Ralf · May 8, 2001, 14:48

I saw a re-cast of popular-science TV-program from around 1968-69, about a year ago. It was about ordinary people (but also "experts") speculating how they believed our society was going to change/look like "30 years from now" (= around year 2000).

The failure-rate in their predictions was often really striking.

Especially then it came to how they believed ordinary people was going to live their lifes, and how society was going to look like in general, year 2000.
It was much about SciFi-inspired clothes, hairstyles and apartments and it was about modular-condos transportable by helicopters, and much more. Some (not all) technical predictions was reasonably fulfilled, but most predictions about people/society was not. The truth is; we dont have a clue about "the future" beyond 2020 AD.

All I know is that I dont want another one of those rather naive SciFi strategy-game fantasies, with made-up & hard-to-relate "future-techs"; and with typical CTP/SMAC-style "frosen-in-time" government/social engineering values. These games often feels very "dry", "technical" and to be honest; pretty unlikely. I say; keep that SciFi-crap out from the Civ-3 main game, and into dedicated Civ-3 scenarios instead.

[This message has been edited by Ralf (edited May 08, 2001).]

tniem · May 8, 2001, 14:54

quote:

Originally posted by ajbera on 05-08-2001 11:43 AM
The way I see it, they have a couple of options if they really wish Civ3 to be the precursor to SMAC.

We can do a bit of speculation as to when we feel the tech levels of the primary nations of Earth would be sufficient to launch a colony ship to AC. Everyone is going to piss and moan about the uncertainty of the future, but for gameplay's sake, I'd say either 2100 or 2200. That's well enough into the future that such an endeavor would sound feasible, but not so far as another 500 years from now. So, Civ3 goes until the 22nd or 23rd century, and there's a direct connection to SMAC.

Alternately, instead of advancing so far that colony ship construction is believable, the game could end a bit sooner, and the scientific end game could involve the race to locate a suitable planet for colonization, the step immediately prior to constucting the colony ship. Then the game could end anywhere from an optimistic 2020 to a more realistic 2050 (2100 is still a possibility.) That would advance us far enough into the future to allow for a smooth transition to SMAC, while still not being so far into the future that we would have sci-fi type units (although I would like to see some minor advancements over tanks and AEGIS cruisers to reflect future knowledge - nothing radical, but small tweaks, such as better mobility, firepower, etc.)

Just my two cents.

SMAC's story is that man is at war. That the Earth is going to be destroyed so we send out our last hope. As soon as they are airborne they cannot send signals back to Earth because we have destroyed communication during our last great war.

So for a link from Civ III to SMAC should more be you are the great leader that united the world in any of the possible ways of winning. Then 25 years after your accomplishment you have died due to old age (hey how many 6000 year-old do you know?) War breaks out without your leadership. A ship must be sent to A.C.

Now your clone (is it Morgan, Miriam, Yang, etc.) must reestabilish a human civilization in space.

Only way the story can connect. Otherwise why are we going to space. With this story, Civ can end anytime around 2020 to 2050 and during the war one group builds the ship to go to space.

Roman · May 8, 2001, 19:36

I have to agree with Ralf 100%.

DrFell · May 8, 2001, 19:51

So the general consensus is there are no hovercraft in Civ1?

java4me · May 8, 2001, 20:38

There was no hovercraft in Civ1, it was in the original program of it, but Sid decided to get rid of it right before its realese!!!

And I also agree with Ralf's ideas!!!